Illicit funds: EFCC advocates improved financial intelligence gathering

The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, has called for an effective check on the movement of illicit funds, to boost the fight against insurgency

Speaking at the opening of a one week training, entitled “Cross Border Financial Investigation” yesterday in Abuja, Lamorde said that financial intelligence should be strengthened to monitor cash flow to criminal gangs.

“This theme is timely considering the challenges that are confronting us in the area of money laundering and terrorist financing. Illicit funds transfer across borders fuels organised crimes, including terror attacks and insurgency; Nigeria has been grappling with insurgency and there is a growing concern as to how these attacks are funded.

“Without attempting to provide an answer, it is not impossible that such funds are gotten through illicit means.”

The chairman said that the commission’s collaboration with other sister agencies in recent times, had done a lot in checking movement of illicit funds, adding that the target was to completely eliminate the crime.

“The EFCC, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, has, in the past few years, taken bold steps to check movement of cash across our borders.

“Nevertheless, our target is to completely eradicate the incidence of illicit cash movement, bearing in mind the danger it poses to our collective health as a nation. My expectation is that this training programme will further expose our officers to new techniques in cross border financial investigation,” he said.

Also speaking, Mrs Maria Brewer, the Deputy Chief of Mission U.S. Embassy, Abuja, said that the course was part of the American Government’s collaboration with the EFCC.

She advised participants to take advantage of the course to become better government officials.

“The United States recognises that financial crime is a global phenomenon and this course will furnish participants with the skills to check financial crimes across the borders.

“I advise the participants to take what they learn from here to become better public servants,” she said.

In his remark, Mr Ayo Olowonihi, Commandant of the EFCC Academy, said that the academy was in the process of developing anti-corruption courses to further tackle the menace of financial crimes.

He said that the academy had become the institution of choice for the West African anti-corruption training.

“This academy has been working on developing certificate programmes on anti-corruption. We are also developing curricular that can be taught in tertiary institutions both in Nigeria and beyond, because we are now the West Africa Anti-Corruption Academy,” he said.

The training programme was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.